Watch the Modern Jazz Improv online guitar lesson by John Stowell from Modern Jazz Improv

I can't emphasize enough the importance of practicing new information in a shared environment with one or more cohorts. Discussing the theory clarifies it in your own mind. Locating information on the neck develops muscle memory as you repeat the patterns and learn to connect them; ear training is happening at the same time. You become familiar with a sound as you hear it played again and again, learning not only how to use it in your own improvisations; you are also training yourself to recognize and respond to new sounds in others' playing.